July showroom arrival for Nissan Qashqai

NISSAN has released pricing for its Qashqai compact crossover that arrives in local showrooms next month, confirming a front-wheel drive only line-up starting from $25,850, plus on-road costs.

The baby SUV replaces the popular Dualis, (called Qashqai in Europe) and will be offered with a choice of a petrol or diesel powertrain, in front-wheel drive configuration, with two specification grades available.

The $25,850 price for the base ST petrol undercuts the outgoing Dualis equivalent by just $140, while replacing the six-speed manual gearbox with Nissan’s Xtronic continuously variable transmission (CVT) adds $2640 and brings the price to $28,490.

Staying with the petrol variants, and stepping up to the more generously equipped Ti costs $32,490 – $100 less than the Dualis 2WD Ti – while this time opting for the CVT costs $2500 and increases the price to $34,990.

Previously, Nissan only offered one diesel variant of the Dualis, but this time around there are two, starting with the TS from $33,200, while the new Qashqai range-topper is the TL oil-burner from $37,990. The CVT is the only transmission choice for diesel-powered variants.

As previously reported, there is no +2 seven-seat version of the Qashqai, as there was with the Dualis, with Nissan instead offering the larger X-Trail SUV – which is built on the same Common Module Family platform – as the brand’s entry seven-seat model.

Despite the availability of all-wheel drive in the Dualis, Nissan Australia said in a statement that it will not be introducing an AWD version of the Qashqai, and highlighted the recently launched X-Trail which is offered in both 2WD and AWD guise.

The Japanese car-maker’s local arm is not offering any of the new, smaller petrol and diesel powertains confirmed at the Qashqai’s unveiling late last year in London, and is instead using a tweaked version of the 2.0-litre petrol engine that now has direct fuel injection and produces 106kW (up from 102kW) and 200Nm (up from 198Nm).

The 1.6-litre turbo-diesel unit is carried over from Dualis and continues to produce 96kW of power and 320Nm of torque.

Braked towing capacity stays at 1200kg for the petrol CVT and 1400kg for the petrol manual, while the now CVT-only diesel is up to 1400kg compared to the diesel Dualis manual’s 1200kg.

Nissan says the new Qashqai has independent strut front suspension and a multi-link rear as well as performance-enhancing features such as Active Ride Control, Active Engine Brake which harnesses the power and controllability of the CVT for shorter stopping distances and better brake feel, and Active Trace Control which applies extra braking force if necessary when cornering.

Standard features across the Qashqai range includes hill-start assist, LED daytime running lights, adjustable steering modes, electric park brake and the NissanConnect smartphone connectivity system with access to apps such as Facebook and Pandora.

Base ST petrol variants feature a reversing camera, five-inch front display, cruise control, leather-accented gear-shift knob and steering wheel, a roof spoiler, a space saver spare wheel and 17-inch alloy wheels.

On top of this, the diesel-powered TS gains idle stop, electric foldoing mirrors, fog-lights, rain-sensing wipers, tinted glass, a premium cloth trim, push-button start, dual-zone climate control and six-speaker stereo Moving up to the Ti petrol adds a seven-inch display, sat-nav, a panoramic sunroof, automatic headlights, leather-accented trim, and heated front seats.

The TL diesel flagship adds idle stop to this and safety wise both the Ti and TL feature an intelligent parking system, lane departure and blind spot warnings, an around view monitor with moving object detection, Driver Attention Support, LED headlights and high-beam assist.

All variants feature six airbags Isofix anchors, brake assist, electronic brakeforce distribution, ABS and a five-star Euro NCAP crash safety rating.

Nissan Australia managing director and CEO Richard Emery said the Qashqai is an important element in the car-maker’s SUV strategy and should appeal to buyers in the local market.

“The all-new Nissan Qashqai presents an enormous Australian-market opportunity for Nissan,” he said.

“Qashqai offers consumers style, safety, technology and premium comfort in an exciting, accessible package that will have broad appeal.

“Our crossover and SUV range now boasts Juke, Qashqai, X-Trail, Murano, Pathfinder and Patrol, ensuring that Nissan has a product for every need in this ever-growing section of the market.” 2014 Nissan Qashqai pricing*

ST 2.0L	$25,850
ST 2.0L (a)	$28,490
Ti 2.0L	$32,490
TS 1.6L diesel (a)	$33,200
Ti 2.0L (a)	$34,990
TL 1.6L diesel (a)	$37,990

*Excludes on-road costs.